A group of young activists and I returned from Washington, D.C., with a new sense of purpose.
Drawing close to strangers in our nation’s capital during the inaugural activities, and joining arms with them, bound us to their stories and personal experiences.
We both recognized and identified with their humanity, motivating us to volunteer our thoughts and bodies to their cause, and them to ours. For most of us that participated, the march was not the end. To the contrary, it was merely the beginning of our ongoing political actions to challenge the Donald Trump agenda.
We don’t have to be impoverished, neglected, a refugee, a member of the LGBT community, a minority, a woman or a disabled member of society to comprehend the threat that we all face under current political decisions. We cannot sit idly and “give Trump a chance” as the integrity of our Democracy is at risk.
In recent weeks, Trump has abused his authority to ban innocent refugees from entering the U.S., appoint unqualified and egregious cabinet members, delegitimize the press and elevated the unvetted Stephen Bannon to a permanent member of the National Security Council.
President Trump and his legislative collaborators have unleashed the ugly forces of cultural bigotry, mass discrimination and violence targeting vulnerable populations. We must pay attention and respond because as Martin Luther King professed, “whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.”
When others suffer around us we all begin to feel a deep pain of loss of identity, of human connection. How can we forge reciprocal relationships and weave a new identity for America out of the fabric of our diverse interests?
Let’s learn from this experience, this movement. The continued organizing of our community and communities across the country give us hope for a more empathetic and equitable future. This is not a partisan battle, this is a battle to protect our humanity.
Because we do not elect leaders to make government fail, we elect leaders to make government work for all of us!
Ana Moran
Durango
